“FUTURISTIC FEMALES”

by ShellShaker

Murals have a the ability to transform any given space and environment and possess a level of impact that traditional canvas paintings or prints don’t quite provide. —ShellShaker

Chinese American multi-disciplinary artist ShellShaker says she dropped out of art school in her “quarrelsome 20s"  but a decade later "the creative whispers started to turn into screams.” “Something magical happens” she says “when you walk away from the expectations of others and start to pay attention to that inner calling.” In early 2024 ShellShaker joined (left to right) @bacpac_live, @artthoutifa, and @paige.reesor.art at @The_Styles_Shop for Futuristic Females night as part of First Fridays Art Walk in Phoenix’s Grand Ave Arts District’s. 

LOCATION: 1020 Grand Ave unit B1 Phoenix, AZ 85007

IG: @shellshaker

ALBERTA, PORTLAND

by Jesse Reno

Living and working out of a converted church in Portland, Oregon, self-taught Jesse Reno says he’s created more than 4,000 paintings over the past 20 years and usually has a dozen paintings in progress at a time. Reno describes his symbolism-rich work as Contemporary Primitive (a basic wisdom of things based on connection to one’s ideas and dreams rather than institutional knowledge) and Abstract Narrative (creations made up of intuitive actions and changing directions as forms emerge). He describes painting as “finding treasure.” This treasure was painted in 2018 for @CollagePDX at Alberta St and NE 17th Ave.

Photos ©2024 Randall Cole
https://scenefromthesidewalk.blog/

LOCATION: 1639 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211

IG: @jessereno

“HARMONY”
by Gleo

Whether working large or small Colombian artist Gleo “maintains a common language: color and shapes, elements that in turn create dialogue with the spaces built by the human imaginary.” Gleo says “we all form one with nature” and her work searches for a universal language to describe the human experience. In 2021 she created this work for the @ShineOnStPete festival as a tribute to two people who’s love and teaching have transformed her.
Photos ©2024 Randall Cole

LOCATION: 2336 5th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

IG: gleo_co

“MIRACLE FOR COLUMBIA”

by Milagros Collective

Named one of the world’s 25 “Coolest Film Festivals” Columbia, South Carolina’s Indie Grits festival provides opportunities for filmmakers often overlooked elsewhere. In 2017 the festival theme was “Visiones” and was all about Latinx representation in the U.S. and as part of festival Milagros Collective—founded by Felici Asteinza and Joey Fillastre—painted this mural at Taylor and Assembly Streets. The mural is offered as a good luck charm for the Latinx community and features good luck offerings from a variety of Latin American countries. 
Photos ©2023 Randall Cole
https://scenefromthesidewalk.blog/

LOCATION: 1101 Taylor St, Columbia, SC 29201

IG: @milagrosyall  

FREE WEST PAPUA

by Dale Grimshaw

Born in Northern England, Dale Grimshaw credits drawing and painting with helping him through a difficult childhood. After an extensive gallery career Grimshaw began spending more of his time painting outdoors and his work is inspired by strongly held humanitarian beliefs. Grimshaw’s work has exposed many to his message of support for the Free West Papua movement, but he says “this political message is always achieved by an emphasis on powerful direct emotions and a deep empathy for his subjects.” This 2019 mural was painted in Greensboro, NC as part of the @KotisStreetArt effort to transform the landscape of the city

LOCATION: 2416 Battleground Ave, Greensboro, NC 27408

IG: @dale_grimshaw

BAD ASTRONAUT

by Floyd Medoza III

In mid-2022 as the world still struggled to find some new normal the people of Houston emerged from their homes to discover a new 36,000 sq ft brewery at Fulton and Burnett Streets, dedicated to providing an “out of this world experience"—Bad Astronaut. Supporting Houston’s emerging street art scene has been part of their vision from day one and their walls are covered with work curated by the annual @SprayCityWalls festival. In 2023 Pasadena, Texas, artist Floyd Mendoza III added this on-point wall. Working in a wide range of mediums and styles Mendoza has done work for the Houston Rockets and Crown Royal and is always on the lookout for new ways to stretch his creativity. 

LOCATION: 1519 Fulton St, Houston, TX 77009

IG: @mendoza.creates  @badastronautbrewing

“CHILD LABOR”

by Hopare

While one girl applies makeup her friend collects mica, a mineral commonly used in makeup. In 2023 Hopare created this allegory on Fannin St in downtown Houston, addressing the connections between child labor and consumption and the contradictions of modern society. The mural is one of more than two dozen large works curated by @StreetArtMankind around Houston as part of its “Big Art, Bigger Change” project—bringing beauty to the city while also promoting social and environmental justice. In little more than a decade French artist Alexandre Monteiro, aka Hopare, has become an important figure in urban art, adding his poignant visual statements across the global stage. 

LOCATION: 1617 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77002

IG: @hopare1  

“COMMUNITY IS ESSENTIAL”

by Nik Richard

Nik Richard is an urban planner and artist from New Orleans and currently teaches advanced illustration at Loyola University. Richard uses his art to narrate his journey and the colorful life and history of the people and environment of Southern Louisiana. In 2021 Richard was asked to paint “Community Is Essential” for the new @YayaArtsCenter in New Orleans’ Central City. This mural sits across the street from the former Flint-Goodridge Hospital, which served primarily Black patients in New Orleans so, using his mother as muse for the composition, Richard’s work reflects on the role of culture, health and healthcare, and social justice in defining “essential community." 

LOCATION: 3322 Lasalle St, New Orleans, LA 70115

IG: @nikrichard  

“THE MANGROVE REFUGE”

by Michael Vasquez

St Pete native Michael Vasquez describes his work as “exploring identity and the cultivation of community amidst an inherent disposition of broken homes inside marginalized neighborhoods.” often relying on his own photos of friends Vasquez’s figurative paintings narrate neighborhood events and tribulations as his subjects navigate the pressures of peers and society at large. For the 2023 edition of ShineOnStPete festival Vasquez painted the Vorasane Family and Friends, a displaced set of Lao immigrants. The scene is set about 1980 on Gandy Beach in Tampa Bay with a 1978 Datsun 280Z serving as “centerpiece and point of pride,” while the solitary gazes allude to some deeper story. 

LOCATION: 2063 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33713

IG: @michaelvasquez_  

“LINEAGE”

by Add Fuel

Portuguese artist Diogo Machado started out using the name Add Fuel to the Fire, painting “a cast of slimy, eccentric and joyful creatures” influenced by interests ranging from sci-fi to video games. In 2008, refocusing his work around the symmetry and repetition of traditional Portuguese tile designs, Machado shortened his moniker to Add Fuel. Creating a visual dialogue between heritage and modernity relevant to the global stage on which he works, Add Fuel says local exploration and investigation is an integral part of his process. In Cincinnati in 2022 for the @BlinkCincinnati Festival, Add Fuel relied on the stories and history of @RookwoodPottery to guide this composition occupying the “space between pattern and figurative." 

LOCATION: 1714 Race St, Cincinnati, OH 45202

IG: @addfuel